Blended or Flipped Classrooms

Virtual Education is defined as instruction where students and teachers are separated by time or space, or both, and the teacher uses a Learning Management System (LMS) such as Moodle/Blackboard to deliver instruction. Through one of these systems, teachers can offer blended instruction (face to face instruction that includes access to materials on a LMS) or offer fully online courses.

The teacher may also use other tools (Wikis, Blogs) and Video Conferencing to communicate with the students.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could record our lessons and post them for students to watch? Have you ever thought about what students do when they get home and have a question? Where can they get help? Do you have a problem with students who don't complete their homework? The move to blended instruction/virtual instruction, or using both online and face-to-face instruction, is transforming education. It is also causing a shift in the responsibilities and roles of both the teacher and the student.

What is a Blended Classroom?

Blended learning (aka hybrid and mixed-mode) is an environment in which:

a student learns in a blended model of face-to-face instruction with a licensed teacher and technology-based instruction that best meets the educational needs of the student.

During the technology-based instruction, under the guidance of the teacher, the student has control over the time, place, path and/or the pace of the curriculum to form an integrated instructional approach.

Watch the following video to learn more about blended learning in the classroom.

We also suggest that if you are interested in learning more about blending your classroom that you check your local ISD for the Blended Learning in the Classroom Course (BLiC) a REMC Association project.

What is a flipped classroom?

Teachers who have flipped their classrooms either create or link to content related instructional materials and post them to a web site or learning management system for students to view outside the school day. By having students view the videos and learning resources at home, teachers use class-time by helping students apply or practice the learning. Activities that have been traditionally assigned as homework are now done in class with the teacher's support. Teachers have begun using this model for providing sub plans.

About the Flipped Classroom

Johnathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams are considered the originators of the flipped classroom. Watch their video above about the Flipped Classroom.

note: In order to use Screencast-o-Matic your internet browser must have have the most up-to-date version of Java. Follow the prompts when you open Screencast-o-Matic and install Java.

Jing

Show me videos can be extremely helpful for learners, especially in this age of digital media. You can create and post help resources online with this free software. You can capture your screen, a photo to annotate and explain, or create a video of the steps that students need to follow. Although Jing is free, you must install the software to your computer and your videos cannot be longer than 5 minutes long.

Resources for editing and posting video

If you want to edit or produce your own videos, there are instructions and resources in the Additional Resources for Blended or Flipped Classroom.

Learning Objectives

Understand how to create and post content and video to an online course

Make connections with technology standards and best practice

Transfer the learning to professional practice by applying these tools in an educational setting to engage students in blended/flipped classroom activities

Assignment

21 Things Hands-on Activities and Assignments:

1. Select one of the screencasting tools to create an instructional video for your students. Remember the five (5) minute limit! (Storyboarding your lesson first will help). Record from your computer screen using Screencast-o-matic, Jing, or another tool.

2. Send the link to a colleague or student to get feedback and then revise the project if needed.

3. Embed your video (or post the link) to your Face of the Classroom site.
Please Note: If you are unable to post the video to your Face of Classroom, you will need to upload it to School Tube, TeacherTube, Vimeo, Screencast, WeVideo or some other video hosting site.

4. Include the link in your digital portfolio with a brief description of how the video will enhance the instruction in your classroom.

21Things4Teachers is a project of the Regional Educational Media Center Association of Michigan. The REMC Association promotes the transformative use of technology and provides Michigan schools with access to educational resources to help teachers increase student success. For more information, visit remc.org, or connect with the REMC Association on social media at, facebook.com/REMCAssociation and twitter.com/REMCAssociation.